On a night that celebrated 50 years of football at Tiger Field, the Commerce offense was off to a fast start in a Region 8-A matchup with the visiting Spartans.

The Tigers put together two first quarter scoring drives, bookended with rushing scores by Cole Chancey and Caleb Brooks.

Commerce scored again in the second quarter when Brooks connected with J’Varius Wood on a touchdown pass, putting the Tigers up 21-0.

However, the Tigers big lead was short-lived as Athens Academy scored once in the second quarter and again in the third to make it a one-score game (21-14).

Both teams had their share of fumbles in a sloppy second half, before Athens Academy managed to get into the end zone for a third time on the night. That score would have tied things up if not for a missed extra point.

Up 21-20, the Tigers were forced to punt the ball away on their following possession, but a bad snapped sailed over the punter’s head, leading to a turnover on downs and putting the Spartans in excellent field position.

Just when it looked like Athens Academy was going to have no problem punching another score in, Commerce defensive back Jones intercepted the Spartan quarterback and took it 90 yards to the house.

“The only thing that was on my mind was to get into the end zone,” said Jones. “I knew my team needed me to get there. I was really just thinking about my brothers – my family – needing me to get in the end zone so we can get this win.”

Commerce had the opportunity to go up by eight, but a failed fake-field goal attempt by the Tigers was thwarted.

Commerce increased its lead to 27-20, but the night’s drama was far from over.

With only three minutes on the clock, Athens Academy mounted a final drive, managing to force the ball all the way to the Tiger’s goal line. With only seconds remaining on fourth-and-one, the Spartan quarterback tried to sneak over the pile, but the Tiger defensive front created an impenetrable wall of bodies, keeping Athens Academy out of the end zone by mere inches as the buzzer rang.

Commerce only managed one yard of total offense to Athens Academy’s 198 in the second half. But at the end of the night, the only stat that mattered for Commerce was the ‘W’.

“Tonight we could have played much better than what we did, but we came out on top,” added Jones. “That’s all that matters. I want to thank everyone that came out and supported us and we are going to get back at it, and do better next week.”

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